


Second Sight

by sidewinder



Category: Brimstone
Genre: Gen, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-12
Updated: 2012-01-12
Packaged: 2017-10-29 10:27:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/318904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sidewinder/pseuds/sidewinder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zeke helps the devil see things from a different point of view.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Sight

**Author's Note:**

> The following story is written entirely for fun and not for any profit. No attempt is made to supersede or infringe upon the copyrights held by any television or film companies upon which this story is based.

Out in what he could only properly describe as the middle of nowhere, Ezekiel Stone sat on a large, smooth boulder on the edge of a lake. Wilderness surrounded him, as far as he could see--nothing but the lake and encircling forest, uninhabited for miles except for the wildlife.

He found it peaceful here, so very tranquil. In fact he found the forest almost alien, but then again he was a man who had spent most of his days in cities. The well-manicured lawns and carefully planted gardens of his suburban youth were nothing compared to this landscape shaped instead by natural forces and the changing seasons.

He wasn't hunting. He'd chased his latest quarry here, to the countryside of upstate New York. He'd followed a trail of victims and traced the demon to his hiding place in an abandoned farmhouse. Their confrontation had been brief and violent. The escaped demon had been stronger than Ezekiel, but not nearly as smart. The former detective had managed two dead-on shots to the demon's eyes, sending him back to Hell, where he belonged.

Just another name to scratch off his list... another scribble burned away from his inhuman flesh. Ezekiel was used to the routine by now. What still bothered him were the nightmarish cries of the damned souls when he sent them home. Those screams reminded him too much of what awaited _him,_ should he fail in his mission.

Zeke had finished off this particular demon just yesterday. The devil had yet to appear to point him toward the next escapee on his list, so Zeke had decided to take some time to himself until then--some time to relax, go hiking, see a part of the world he'd never seen before.

The quiet of this place was good for him, he decided quickly. He liked it a lot. After fifteen years in Hell, listening to the never-ending screams of the damned, he'd almost forgotten what peace and quiet was like. And in the cities where he'd spent most of his time--New York, Los Angeles--it was never truly quiet, either. Not like here, with just the rustling of wind through the trees and the occasional cries of the birds to interrupt the silence.

He'd been hiking for hours, first along marked trails, then wherever his curiosity had led him. By late afternoon he'd found his way to this lake and decided to stay for a while, to simply sit and watch the sunset that would be coming soon. Now it was just beginning to start, and from the color already beginning to fill the sky, he had a feeling it would be a beautiful one.

He sat and watched, his thoughts drifting along without direction, much like the whisps of clouds in the sky above. Not many men walked the Earth with the knowledge he possessed, and sometimes that knowledge was as heavy a burden to carry as his guilt and rage over what had happened to Rosalyn, all those years ago. He thought of Heaven, what it might be like. He thought of Hell, a place with which he was all too familiar. He thought of the devil, that mysterious fallen angel who could be both infuriating and fascinating, his true motivations and thoughts always beyond Ezekiel's understanding.

In time his thoughts turned to darker subjects. He thought about God and His system of justice--the system which had deemed Ezekiel unworthy of Heavenly peace and reward. He wished he could understand it all- -especially why he had been judged as deserving of eternal damnation for killing a piece of scum like Gilbert Jax. Yes, he'd killed him in cold blood, and he felt no guilt for the sorry bastard's death. But how many women had Gilbert Jax raped? How many families had been torn apart by that piece of dirt? How many others would he have made suffer like he'd made Rosalyn suffer, if he'd been left to wander the streets? How could God approve of letting a man like that live and cause so many innocents to suffer?

Zeke understood--in concept, in the thoughtful words of his friend Father Horn-- that it was his lack of remorse that had damned him more than the act of murder itself. But that knowledge hadn't changed his feelings. He still didn't regret what he'd done. As far as he was concerned, he never would.

In that case, what good was this "second chance" he'd been granted? Maybe the devil was right; maybe he was destined for Hell no matter what and he was fooling himself to think otherwise. If that was the case, Zeke figured he'd best take time to enjoy his days here on Earth among the living as much as he possibly could. And that was exactly what he intended to do, every moment he could spare away from his mission, away from the devil's constant prying and pushing.

"Really, Mr. Stone! I didn't take you to be such a Nature Boy."

Ezekiel almost laughed. He should have known it would have been too much to expect to enjoy the beauty of this place in peace.

The devil appeared from a clearing in the woods behind him. He was dressed in hiking gear that was a marked step down from his usual dapper attire, from the mud-covered brown boots on his feet to the floppy, olive- colored hat on his head. He dusted his hands off on his baggy khaki pants and looked out over the lake and the distant hills. After drawing in a deep breath, he sighed and said, "Ah... Mother Nature's pride and joy. The last vestiges of wilderness, of land barely trodden upon by ever-destructive human feet. How utterly boring." The devil turned and frowned down at Ezekiel. "What are you doing here, anyway? Surely not hunting one of your quarry."

Zeke shrugged. "Just taking a breather is all. You might think it's boring out here, but I think it's... incredible."

The devil responded with a derisive laugh. "Incredible," he echoed Ezekiel, and then he settled onto the rock next to the man. He picked up a small pebble and tossed it out on the water, where it skipped three times before dropping beneath the surface. "Ah, my dear Mr. Stone, the only incredible thing here is how human beings can become so enraptured by this... " he paused, waving his hand to encompass their surroundings, "... sorry landscape of overgrown vegetation and muddied waters."

Zeke shook his head. "You just can't see or feel the things that make this place special." The former detective in him took note of it all: the silvery light reflecting off the soft ripples on the water's surface; the soft cries of the birds, calling to each other in the final moments of daylight; the sweet earthiness of the air; the wildflowers lining the distant shore with pale blossoms of blue and white. And of course, he took note of the sunset, growing more intense by the moment. How many other places like this existed, he wondered? Places that he'd never seen in his life, never had the chance to explore? He felt regret for so many missed chances. This "second life" he lived here on Earth as a demon was just real enough to experience some of these things he'd missed. Yet he still felt strangely detached--he could watch, he could observe, but he was still apart from it all--apart from the people he loved, with whom he wished he could share moments like this one.

The devil didn't leave Zeke to his silent musings and regrets for very long. "None of this will be left, a hundred years from now, you know. Soon enough this will all be housing developments, parking lots and strip malls... perhaps even a chemical manufacturing plant, what with all of that pure water to pollute." He chuckled. "Ah, human progress. You have to admire it, don't you, Mr. Stone?"

Zeke shook his head. "You always have to look at man--at the entire world--from a negative perspective, don't you?"

"It's my nature," the devil told him with a shrug. "If I ever had the ability to see things differently, I lost it a very long time ago."

Zeke thought he heard a touch of regret in those words. He turned to look at his companion for a moment but the devil's well- lined face was an unreadable mask. His gray eyes were shadowed beneath the brim of his hat, and he still wore his ever-cryptic smile. Zeke turned away, back to the hills in the distance and the sunset. The colors were still growing more intense as the sun slipped nearly completely behind the horizon. In another minute the show in the sky would reach its climax, and then quickly fade into more muted shades of gray and purple before night descended completely. He was determined to enjoy every second of it, the devil's pessimistic presence be dammed.

A few minutes passed in silence. Then, without sound, without warning, Zeke suddenly felt the devil right behind him, his hands resting on Zeke's shoulders. He stiffened in irritation, but then the devil spoke, his voice softer in tone than usual and betraying a hint of curiosity.

"Let me see through your eyes, Ezekiel."

Zeke was puzzled, not quite sure exactly what the devil had in mind. But he relaxed, slightly, and turned his attention back to the sunset. He felt a strange sensation pass through him, as if the world itself briefly went out and then back into focus in the blink of an eye. He was aware of the devil still behind him... no, more than that... somehow _inside_ him now--inside his mind, sharing his senses. Zeke felt disoriented for a moment, but then he decided to ignore the feeling and go back to watching the final minutes of the sunset. He wasn't going to let anything keep him from appreciating it.

The sky had turned all brilliant, violent colors--orange bleeding into pink and then into blood red, dark streaks of clouds cutting through the bright sky. So beautiful, Zeke thought; it looked like something that should only exist in a fantastical painting, like in those books Rosalyn used to collect about the Impressionists. Pink and orange finally began to fade into lavender and gray, yet the red became almost like a fire in the sky, for just a moment, before rapidly fading away.

As sunset turned to dusk, Zeke's attention drifted back from the skies to the cool rock beneath him, and the warm hands on his shoulders... the devil's face pressed almost cheek to cheek to his own, now, he realized. He should have been repulsed, eager to pull away and out of the devil's unexpected embrace. Instead, he hesitated, feeling a strong sense of... he wanted to call it intimacy... with this being. Perhaps it was nothing more than the beauty of what he'd seen, leaving him feeling warm inside--warm, and pleased to have had someone with whom to share this moment. Even if that someone was the devil.

The moment didn't last long. Zeke felt the strange sensation of shifting focus again, and the devil pulled away, settling back on the ground behind Zeke with a small sigh. The former detective turned around to meet the devil's gaze. The emotions behind his icy, shadowed eyes were still near impossible to read.

"What did you see?" Zeke asked.

"Everything... that I've lost. And I should hate you for that, but I choose to save my hatred for the one who took it all from me."

Silence lingered as twilight began to descend. Brief flares of fire danced over the surface of the lake, as the fireflies came out to meet the evening. "It's gonna be a beautiful night. All the stars... " Zeke observed, seeing the faint sparkling lights beginning to reveal themselves in the darkening sky. Stars and fireflies... more rare sights for a city boy. "Do you want to stay... watch them with me?" he found himself asking.

"No, thank you, Mr. Stone. I've seen enough for one night," the devil replied, and then he rose to his feet. "Some other time, perhaps."

Zeke nodded. Some other time.

He turned his attention back to the skies, and only knew when the devil had left by the slight rush of air behind him. He lay back on the rock and rested his head on his hands, and watched the night sky for hours until finally drifting asleep.

End.


End file.
